lotto

Judge rules in Jane Doe's favor

(Newser) -
A judge ruled Monday that a New Hampshire woman who won a Powerball jackpot worth nearly $560 million can keep her identity private, but not her hometown, the AP reports. Judge Charles Temple noted that the case's resolution rested on application of the state's Right-to-Know law, which governs...
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Highline has the story of Jerry and Marge Selbee

(Newser) -
Jerry and Marge Selbee had sold the convenience store they'd operated in Evart, Mich., for more than 15 years, but still stopped in on occasion to check in on the new owners. On one morning in 2003, Jerry left with a brochure that ended up spurring an endeavor that...
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Lawyers say she's already being targeted by scammers

(Newser) -
The mystery New Hampshire woman who won a $560 million Powerball jackpot still has a privacy problem—but there's no shortage of people offering to help. Lawyers for "Jane Doe," who wants to collect the prize anonymously but made the "huge mistake" of signing the ticket...
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She allegedly gave undercover agent just $5 as his winnings, kept winning ticket for herself

(Newser) -
A lucky lottery ticket turned out to be not so lucky for a Florida store clerk, who's accused of stealing it from a "customer." The reason "customer" is in quotes is because, per the Miami Herald , he was actually an undercover agent for the Florida Lottery...
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Diane Bishop's cancer finally started responding to chemo—and she just won a $1.2M jackpot

(Newser) -
Diane Bishop has stage 4 breast cancer, but she now feels like she has a new lease on life. That's because the Canadian woman not only recently started responding to chemo for the first time—she also just won a $1.2 million lottery jackpot, the CBC reports. The...
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Jimmie Smith had winning lottery ticket in shirt pocket for nearly a year

(Newser) -
Always check your shirt and pants pockets before you throw your clothes in the wash, or even before you hang them back up in your closet, especially if you've recently purchased a lottery ticket. Jimmie Smith found that out this spring when he was watching the evening news in...
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Massachusetts dreams big, apparently

(Newser) -
A common stereotype of lottery ticket buyers is that of blue-collar workers trying to break out of dead-end jobs and hit it big. But while there are likely plenty of lotto purchasers who fit that mold, a 24/7 Wall St. ranking suggests the four states that spend the most on...
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It's up to $700M for Wednesday night's drawing

(Newser) -
Get your lucky numbers ready. The jackpot for Wednesday night's Powerball lottery game has climbed to $700 million, making it the second largest in US history, per the AP . The drawing will be 10:59pm EDT in Tallahassee, Fla. For the record, the $700 million figure refers to the...
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California 19-year-old walked away with $655,555

(Newser) -
A California teen is celebrating two big lottery wins in a week. The California Lottery says 19-year-old Rosa Dominguez won $555,555 on a $5 scratch-off ticket purchased at a gas station. After that win, she said she was nervous and "just wanted to cry." A few days...
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They went on 'Today' show before confirming their ticket with lotto officials

(Newser) -
Three winning tickets for the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot were announced after Wednesday night's drawing, one of them in Tennessee—and a family from the Volunteer State volunteered the info that they're the winning clan on the Today show Friday morning, per Today.com . "I...
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Wins $900K due to forgetfulness

(Newser) -
Buying a winning lottery ticket is luck most of us only dream of having. Accidentally buying a second ticket which is also a winner? That's just rubbing it in. An Australian woman managed this incredibly fortunate feat last weekend, winning a grand total of around $900,000 USD between...
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...or a lotto ticket worth that much

(Newser) -
Ricardo Cerezo's wife was cleaning the kitchen when she told the Illinois man he'd better get the lottery tickets that had been piling up in a cookie jar for the past month checked—or she was going to throw them away. Good thing, because that prodded Cerezo to...
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Court documents reveal dispute around Urooj Khan's estate

(Newser) -
The plot has thickened in the case of poisoned lottery winner Urooj Khan. Court documents reviewed by the AP reveal that Khan's death has led to a bitter fight amongst his survivors over his estate—including his still uncashed $425,000 lotto check. Because Khan died without a will,...
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But Mirlande Wilson doesn't seem too concerned about finding it

(Newser) -
You knew this was coming: Mirlande Wilson , who first claimed she won the Mega Millions lottery separately from her pool of co-workers, then said she hid the winning ticket at the McDonald's where they all work, now says she's lost the ticket. "I have no idea where...
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At which she tells press to 'go home'

(Newser) -
Just when you thought the story of Mirlande Wilson , the Baltimore woman who may or may not have a winning Mega Millions ticket, couldn't get any more bizarre … she goes and holds a press conference to which she shows up late, spends most of the time toying with...
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Mirlande Wilson still insists she bought ticket on her own

(Newser) -
The weird story of Maryland's supposed Mega Millions winner gets weirder: Now Mirlande Wilson, the McDonald's employee who said she wouldn't share the winnings with her lottery pool because she bought the ticket separately from her co-workers, claims to have hidden the winning ticket—logically, at the...
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...and says $105M ticket wasn't part of co-workers' lotto pool

(Newser) -
Not even three days have passed since the Mega Millions drawing , and already one supposed winner is embroiled in controversy: Mirlande Wilson claims she has a winning ticket, but won't split her $105 million share of the jackpot with the co-workers in her lottery pool. Wilson, 37, claims she...
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Wait just a minute before you call everyone you know

(Newser) -
You're probably not going to hit the jackpot in tonight's $540 million Mega Millions drawing—but what if you do? First of all, if you bought a bunch of tickets with a pool of co-workers or friends, you might want to take a moment to write up...
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You have a strategy? It won't improve your odds: mathematicians

(Newser) -
Have some complicated algorithm you think will help you win the Mega Millions record $500 million jackpot? Sorry, but there's really nothing you can do to improve your odds … which are about one in 176 million, ABC News reports. Since the pool of numbers never changes (the first...
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For reasons no one is entirely clear on

(Newser) -
A New York lawyer with a checkered past has relinquished his claim on a $7.5 million Iowa lottery jackpot, after being unable to explain how he got the ticket. It was the latest twist in what Iowa Lottery officials call the strangest episode in the game's 26-year history....
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